The new chief scientific advisor to the Department for Transport has urged the transport sector to proactively connect with the Government's national growth plans, especially in areas such as AI and autonomous systems, at the risk of missing out on ministerial focus.

Speaking at the Transport Technology Forum (TTF), Professor Thornley gave an overview of the policy background in the ITS sector, emphasising the importance of the Government's 10-year Industrial Strategy.

‘The industrial strategy is really powering an awful lot that this government is doing. It has very little in it that mentions transport. So, I think it behoves us to have a look at that, and to work out where transport intersects with that, and how transport contributes to the economic growth that strategy is trying to deliver,' she said.

The 10-year strategy does reiterate Government commitments to multi-billion pound investment packages; however, transport was not given a specific sector plan, unlike other industries such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, or digital technologies. Professor Thornley, who was announced in her new role late last year, went on to add that the ITS sector could connect to growth plans through innovative technologies such as AI.

‘AI and autonomy are really, really, really important. There is a huge focus on the ability of AI and other technologies, such as quantum computing, to kickstart economic growth. So if you think that there isn't enough focus on things for transport, look higher. Look at the AI funding opportunities, look at the

AI focus, look at the quantum focus, and think, how can I leverage transport into that?' In terms of AI opportunities, she argued that ‘predictive maintenance, network optimisation, safety and autonomous transport were among the priority areas for the department: ‘And if those are also your priority areas, then we'd like to have a conversation. We'd like to be working with you on that.'

She went on to say: ‘We need more collaboration; we need more understanding of what you're doing. A really important thing for me is getting evidence back from you, of where you're doing trials that can actually make a difference to the departmental priorities, about economic growth, about making the user experience of transport better.

‘If I can get data from you that shows where some of these new technologies are actually making a difference around the country, then we can sell the case for replication. We can continue to support it and we can move forward and expand and deploy.'

She also emphasised the importance of low-carbon materials on road construction: ‘getting decarbonised concrete, using less material, and getting low carbon versions are really key moving forward'.